April Greiman
April Greiman was a designer in New York City in the mid-1970s. In 1976 Greiman decided to move to California, where she opened a graphic design studio in Los Angeles: “Made in Space, Inc.” this meant leaving the comfort of a design community deeply entrenched in European tradition for an uncertain future in LA, which had a culture of limited aesthetic and where museums and galleries were few. On the positive side the lack of an established design practice created a opportunity to explore new paradigms in communications design. In her first job after moving to Los Angeles, Greiman hired Jayme Odgers, who had previously worked as an assistant to Paul Rand, to shoot a series of photographs and shortly after, they formed a creative partnership that lasted for four years in which they produced some highly visible work. Notable projects include a 1979 poster for California Institute of the Arts that Odgers art directed and photographed, the 1980 China Club Restaurant and Lounge advertisements, and a poster designed in 1982, for the 1984 Olympics. April Greiman has been regarded as one of the most influential women graphic artists working in the digital media. In 1982 she became head of the design department at the California Institute of the Arts. Greiman’s book “Hybrid Imagery: The Fusion of Technology and Graphic Design” was published in 1990. Greiman has worked as a designer for the MAK Center for Arts and Architecture in Los Angeles, AOL, Time Warner, Microsoft, the US Postal Service, and the architects Frank O. Gehry, RoTo Architects, and others. April Greiman has been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions for her work.
Greiman sees herself as being in the middle of Modernist tradition and future generations of designers. She actively saw the potential of a new medium notably being the invention of the mac and the possibilities a new digital technology would offer her design. In the tradition of graphic design, you had to be either a great typographer, a great designer, illustrator, or a great poster designer. Now we are confronted with motion graphics, the World Wide Web, and interactive applications. The world has changed and the field of design is also changing. Greiman claimed that “we must be open to new paradigms, to new metaphors, to a whole new spirit of design: It’s not just graphic design anymore. We just don’t have a new name for it yet.” This quote represents Greiman well as she was innovative, unique and open to a new direction.
Source: http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/medalist-aprilgreiman
This poster was designed while Greiman was in her creative partnership with Jayme Odgers it was for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. I think its good piece to show as its innovative for its time. Its plain and simple i love the effect of the legs stepping out of the image you really get the effect of movement even though its a still image. Although i really dont like the use of background colour it clashes and looks a bit pale in my opinion. This is a perfect example of her not being confined by the two dimensional properties of the page and has imagined the design and altered it to be three dimensional.
Greiman designed a poster for Ron Rezek titled “Iris Light” in 1984. This poster is significant due to its innovative use of video imagery and integration of New Wave typography with classical design elements. This work incorporated a still video image, which at a time meant shooting a traditional photograph off the monitor using a 35mm camera.
“Iris Light” represented a turning point in Greiman’s work as it was the first hybrid piece incorporating digital technology. Greiman claimed “Instead of looking like a bad photograph, the image was gestural. It looked like a painting; it captured the spirit of light.” Although it looks ammature now it wouldnt of in the 1980’s the thought of having a three dimensional poster would of been more than interesting. I do like the use of bright colours which makes it more exciting to look at and the symetrical layout she has used.
After researching Greiman she doesnt overly interest me although i respect her for not being feard by the invention of digital technology and instead excelled and took advantage of it. I have noticed alot of her work often looks collage like and consist of many layers of lettering and images which i do like as i tend to use collage in some of my works.
milton Glaser
Milton glaser
Glaser was born on 26.6.1929 in New york. He studied at the Cooper Union Art School from 1948 – 1951 and as a fulbright scholar from 1952 – 1953 aswell as attending the accademy of fine arts, Bologna, Italy. From 1954 – 1974 Glaser was the founder and president of the ‘push pin’ studio in New york and from 1955 to 1974 the editor and co-art director of the ‘push pin graphic’ magazine, which celebrated eccentric design and introduced a contemporary design vocabulary, with a wide range of work that included record sleeves, books, posters, logos, font design and magazine formats. In 1968, Glaser co -founded ‘New York Magazine’ where he was president and design director until 1977 whilst also founding Milton Glaser, inc. in 1974, the work he produced at his manhattan studio includes a wide range of design disciplines; print graphics:identity programs, logos (among them the ‘I love new york’ logo for the new york state department of commerce) Glaser has designed and illustrated more than 300 posters most meorable baing his Bob Dytlan poster for CBS records. Aswell as environmental and interior design. From 1975 to 1977 Milton Glaser was the design director of ‘village voice’ magazine. In 1983 he founded the company WBMG, a studio dedicated to magazine and newspaper design, with walter bernard where they have designed more than 50 magazines, newspapers and periodicalsaround the world.
Milton Glaser has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the centre georges pompidou, paris, the lincoln center gallery, new york and the AIGA gallery in new york. His work is included in the permanent collections of many international art museums. Smithsonian’s cooper-hewitt national design museum has chose Glaser to receive the 2004 national design award.
source: www.miltonglaser.com
Possibly the most famous recognisible logo designs ever. It was designed for a marketing campaign to promote tourism in New York and has now become the symbol for New York after still being used around thirty years later than its first release in the form of clothing, magazines and posters. It portrays a minimal drawing style as the type and the heart shape are both flat to the page. Its simple yet engaging, easy to remember and i dont think there are many people who wouldnt recognise this logo if they saw it. i think its a perfect combination of text, shape and colour.
I wanted to include this image as its one of my favourte pices of work by Glaser. The poster was made for CBS and was included in Bob Dylan’s greatist hits in 1966. I think this poster is so vibrant and full of energy. I love the sillouhette shape of the persons head i find myself doing this in some of my own sketches i just think a blacked out shape of the head looks so much more effective and puts the emphasis on the colourful hair in this case or whatever may be around it. This design says fun and energetic although i dont think this would be the case if the hair was rigid and straight not so curved and didnt flowing like it does. To me it looks bouncy (hence the energy) and i definately think the white strands have a lot to play in this design as it works to accent the other bright colours used which wouldnt stand out as much if the whole hair style was full of colour. I love the curved lines and shapes, they remind me of one of my favourite designers Marian Bantjes as her work is full of curves and colour, she also uses a lot of white to accent other colours.
Pentagram, Paula Scher and Michael Bierut
Pentagram is a huge international design company responsible for some of the most amazing designs ever. It originated in London in 1972 then opening offices in New York 1978, San Francisco 1986, Austin 1994, and Berlin in 2002. The company is very unique as it can provide service across all aspects of Graphics, Identity, interiors, products and Architecture. they have a multi disciplinary structure with designers from all areas working together in the same environment which can only add to creative activity and thinking.
Pentagram consists of sixteen partners and are all practicing designers. Their clients work directly with partners and designers which is extremely important in a successful company. Two of the most well known partners are Michael Bierut and Paula Scher.
Michael Bierut
Michael Bierut became a partner of pentagram in New York 1990. his clients include Walt Disney Company, Benetton, Council of Fashion Designers of America, Motorola, Princeton University and Fashion institute of technology. His recent work includes a new branding and packaging strategy for Saks Fifth Avenue which i am especially interested in as Marian Bantjes also was involved in a “Want It” campaign for the luxury retailer. Bierut has also redesigned magazine “The Atlantic” along with the development of enviromental graphics for the New York Times building.
Along with his outstanding portfolio of work he has also won lots of design awards and his work is within collection at The Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewit and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. As well as these achievements in 2006 he won the AIGA medal for recognition of his work and achievements.
I really like this new logo design for Saks Fifth Avenue The font design looks ornate and as a corporate logo it suits the image of the company perfectly. To me it says luxury and expensive. I especially like the fact that the product designs are in just black and white it gives a clean cut image with no color, it does not need color!! Although the idea of big busy city life behind the design is not really apparent the fact that the text is fragmented on the bags looks brilliant anyway. In relation to Marian Bantjes “Want it” campaign for Saks Fifth Avenue, her text had the same characteristics, very smooth and curved lines and a range of intricate patterns in the finished product. Although i really like this design i do like Bantjes “Want It” logo better, as i think it has more definition contains more detail and is a bit more fun.
Paula Scher
Paula Scher studied at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and began her graphic design career as a record cover art director at both Atlantic and CBS Records in the 1970s. In 1984 she co-founded Koppel & Scher, her design company and in 1991 she joined Pentagram as a partner.
Scher has developed identity and branding systems, promotional materials, environmental graphics, packaging and publication designs for a wide range of clients that include Bloomberg, Coca Cola, Perry Ellis, Museum of Modern Art and the New York Botanical Garden. Scher creates images that speak to contemporary audiences with emotional impact and appeal.
Some of her achievements consist of; in 2001 she was awarded the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in recognition of her distinguished achievements and contributions to the field. In 2006 she was awarded the Type Directors Club Medal, and in 2006 she was named to the Art Commission of the City in New York. As well as this her work is exhibited worldwide and is represented in permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper Hewit National Design Museum, the Library of Congress, the Denver Art Museum and the Centre George’s Pompidou in Paris.
source: (www.pentagram.com)
This is one of Schers famous theatre posters she designed in the 1990’s for The Public Theatre, New York. This particular poster was designed for the production of Savian Glover’s “Bring on da noise, Bring on da funk” The poster definately has its own style due to Scher using typography in such an expressive way. The poster is dominated by type of all different weights and sizes all of which surround the slightly off centre subject. The randomness of the type makes the poster exciting, it makes it feel alive and almost as if the words are speaking to me. The fact that all the type is done in blocky capitals definately adds to this effect. I also like the structure of the words they fit so neatly like its own puzzle. Its obvious the poster represents urban culture and i think it is represented brilliantly and really says what it was meant to. Also the poster contains the PUBLIC logo in the top left that Scher designed for the company. I love this logo i think really stands out i especially like the way the “I” and “C” squash up at the end and are thinner letterforms it really catches my eye.
Aswell as this poster i have also included a couple of images of Scher’s hand painted maps. They are giant, detailed colourful maps of all over the world filled with compact letterforms that spell out country names, cities and states. These maps have a completely different feel and style to the previous work as they feel more personal due to the extensive handwork more than likely. Although still infused with typography they are her own letterforms, this aspect along with all the bright colours make the maps feel fun and exciting to look at, i could stare at it for hours trying to work out what all the words say in there own unique patterns.
From researching Paula Scher i found some of her work not very interesting especially her commercial work but when i came accross these two pieces i was very interested.
Pablo Ferro
After graduating from Manhattan High School of Industrial Art, he began working at Atlas Comics in 1951 as an inker and artist in the EC horror tradition. A year later he began to learn the factors of an animator of UPA cartoons and worked for top commercial studios, including Academy Pictures, Elektra Films and Bill Stern studios which is where he animated Paul Rands drawings for El Producto cigars. In 1961 he founded the creative production studio later named Ferro Mohammed Schwrtz. With high levels of experimentation, Ferro introduced a quick cut method of editing, whereby static images where infused with speed, motion and sound. Ferro maintained a strong appreciation for typography such that in the late 1950’s he experimented with the use of moving type on the television screen. Ferro often used vintage wood-types and Victorian Gothics due to their popularity and their boldness on television.
After seeing Ferro’s advertisements Kubrick hired him to do the trailers and teasers for Dr Strangelove. Ferro accepted the opportunity with the aim to direct a few British adverts. The Black and White film Ferro made was produced via his quick cut technique using 25 separate images in a single minute. This coveyed the dark humor and political immediacy of the film. Words and images flew across the scene to loud sound affects and short bursts of dialogue.
Dr Strangelove is an important work to mention as it was the key to Ferro’s shift from television to film. His style is not always recognizable yet the style in Dr Strangelove can be compared with that of his other works such as; The Addams Family; Family Values (1993) and Men in Black (1997)which all consist of his distinctive hand lettering. however Ferro is less interested about creating a distinctive style than he is creating work that supports the film. His work all has the same purpose to introduce another artists work.
Ferro worked with Kubrick on the main titles of the film as well as the trailers. Ferro filled the entire screen with lettering which had never been done before. Although the hand written text all over the screen does look effective in a way i cant help but not like it, i think its a little bit too simple and some refining to the letter forms may have improved the clip.
As for this second clip which is the trailer for the film i think is brilliant. The Flashing of the images and the upper case lettering is really effective i cant help but think the screen is shouting at me, the white text on black background really helps also. Within the trailer the viewer just gets short snippets of the film and it relies almost solely on the type to give you a taste for the film. this helps build the tension and definitely teases the audience.
Heroes and Heroines
Neville Brody
Neville Brody (born 23rd april 1957 in london) is an english graphic designer, typographer and art director. Studied at the London college of printing and is best known for his work on “The Face” magazine (1981 – 1986) and “Arena” magazine (1987 – 1990) Along with designing record sleeves whilst working for Fettish records (1980 – 1982) and designing a number of typefaces throughout his career such as Arcadia, Industria and insignia are some of the most well known.
I reallylike Brodys magazine cover design for “Face” its a great example of layout. The Face logo dominating the top of the screen and then the extra information surrounding the face. I especially like the issue second down from the left. The Face logo is positioned vertically, i think this really makes a feature out of the “Face” of who is in the issue putting more emphasis upon the image. 
This is one of Neville Brodys record sleeves. it is a three dimensional art work as the hands were made out of plaster and then photographed to give this effective idea that the hands are popping out of the image. One of Brodys main aims was not to be bound in by the margins and edge of the page or material in which you are working on. This piece of work explains just that theory. I dont really like this piece as i think the colours are abit bland and a bit boring to look at, although the fact that the hands produce the effect that they are three dimensional i think is clever and it is no wonder Brodys work is so memorable and eye catching.
Why Not Associates
Why Not Associates were established in 1987 by Andrew Altmann, David Ellis and Howard Greenhalgh. It is a brittish Graphic Design company. it works within a range of different medias such as digital design, motion graphics, television, commercial, advertising and branding, environmental design, publishing, web design and book design. The company has created and directed many well known campaigns for huge brands such as nike, virgin records and the bbc.
corporate identity, website and signage for london based post production facility.
Mesmerization is a book cover for Gee Thomsons new book designed by Why Not Associates. The book explores the media spells that bind us in the modern world.
Both of these images are from the nike campaign. on left are the 
in-store graphics including window designs. On the right is the official logo for shoe boxes and tags for the international launch of nike’s shox ‘more go’ campaign, designed by Why Not Associates. I really like this campaign right from the products such as shoe boxes to the window dressings. In the image above the trainer is literally bursting out of the window. The sharp jagged edges and speres of colour projecting from the trainer look amazing and would definately catch my eye if i where walkin past the window. It has energy and definately promotes the model perfectly in my opinion. this is definately one of my favourite campaigns done by Why Not Associates.
Marian Bantjes
Marian Bantjes doesnt have a formal education in design and only went to art school of one year in 1982. She then worked as a book typesetter from 1983, where she was trained in a very traditional and “classical” typesetting style. In 1993 I started and co-owned a design firm for 9 years until 2003. Marian Bantjes is no longer involved in the company and now works from home (an island off the west coast of Canada) as a “Graphic Artist”
Marian Bantjes claims she is inspired by the following artists: Josef Müller-Brockman, Stefan Sagmeister, Paula Scher, Milton Glaser, andJenny Holzer and many many more.
This is a pattern/design made for the cover of The Women of Design by Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit. The design was made to fit in the negative space of the letterforms. The idea being that the women are there in design, we just often don’t see them. Because the letters force the faces into strange shapes.Bantjes said she relied a lot on hair to make it work wouldnt work with men’s faces! which just emphasises the actual purpose of the design. I think this design is really good in the way it draws your eye in with the confusing patterns and i really like the colour of the yellow text against the black background and pink outlines of the shapes. 
This is a isometric patterned cover Bantjes designed for the “Signs, Symbols, Ornaments” issue of the German magazine “Slanted” The three dimensional properties of the back of the cover looks great like lots of building blocks stacked on each other to make this structure , it draws my eye especially the red blocks work very well with the grey and black, it really stands out. A very eyepopping pattern to say the least.
Stefan Sagmeister
Born 1962 in Austria and is a Graphic Designer and typographer currently living in Bali, Indonesia. He has his own design firm, Sagmeister Inc based in New York, which he started in 1994. Prior to this working for to years at the Leo Burnett advertising agency in Hong Kong and later for eight months at M&Co. in New York. Sagmeister has designed album covers for well known bands such as, Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones. The stones cover demanded months of tiresom effort and research.
“Sagmeister builds his design on ideas that, although quirky and contentious, are very logical, ultimately producing work that grabs the eye and disrupts the senses while satisfiying his own atavistic need to agitate.” (source: Book, DEsign Literacy (continued) understanding design, author; Steven Heller, published 1999, by Allworth Press, p150)
Some may see Sagmeisters work as experimental he dismisses this idea and insists his designs and design solutions are built on intuition, play and the desire to rise above the mundane.
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